Senate stops health care move

The Senate declined to pull out of committee Wednesday a proposed state constitutional amendment drafted to allow Kansans to elude mandates included in federal health care reform.

Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, R-Shawnee, attempted to obtain 24 votes to revive momentum for the "Health Care Freedom Amendment" by yanking it out of committee and placing it on the full Senate's calendar. The 19-21 vote prevented legislative opponents of national health reform to place the amendment on November ballots.

"We know this federal health care law is going to be detrimental to the liberty of Kansas citizens," Pilcher-Cook said.

All three of Shawnee County's senators — Democrats Laura Kelly and Anthony Hensley and Republican Vicki Schmidt — voted against the motion.

Pilcher-Cook said the amendment would say no law could require individuals or employers in Kansas to participate in any health insurance system. The federal law would require most Americans to buy coverage by 2014.

Republican and Democratic senators voting against Pilcher-Cook's bid did so to demonstrate their support for federal reform or to question the necessity of amending the Kansas Constitution.

Sen. John Vratil, R-Leawood, said the U.S. Supreme Court would eventually determine whether the federal health care law was constitutional. That ruling would supersede any change to the state's constitution, he said.

"What Pilcher-Cook is proposing has no substance and is symbolic," Vratil said.

Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler, said senators voting against the motion were essentially putting themselves on record as supporting health reform embraced by President Barack Obama. His comment drew rebukes from more than one Republican who voted against the Pilcher-Cook maneuver.

"I take offense," said Sen. Ruth Teichman, R-Stafford.

The proposed amendment would need to be approved by two-thirds of the House and Senate to be placed on a statewide ballot. A simple majority vote of the public is sufficient to amend the state's constitution.

The issue of federal health reform remains controversial in the House and Senate. There is a movement among Republicans to seek a vote on a measure that would require Attorney General Steve Six, a Democrat, to join with other states mounting a legal challenge to the law.

Six said previously that he wouldn't independently pursue legal action against the federal health legislation. He said in a statement that a legal review of the law didn't reveal any constitutional defects and a challenge by Kansas would be unsuccessful.

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